{"id":1842353,"date":"2026-03-23T14:54:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1842353"},"modified":"2026-03-23T14:54:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:54:36","slug":"irans-energy-sites-still-on-trumps-target-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1842353","title":{"rendered":"Iran&#8217;s energy sites still on Trump&#8217;s target list"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76489420_6.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"sk6xmai\">\n<div class=\"content-area sa7l9jt s9mg977\">\n<section data-tracking-name=\"sharing-icons-inline\" class=\"c75t7t0 hh5424a in-line closed\">\n<div class=\"copy-button-wrapper closed\"><span class=\"svdcmki\">https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5Au8L<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"s4bcs45\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76489420_800.webp 50w, https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76489420_801.webp 129w, https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76489420_802.webp 352w, https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76489420_803.webp 575w\" media=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 575px)\" height=\"100\" width=\"100\" \/><figcaption class=\"c1oedowi lofg86o m4xla6a s16w0xvi rcjjkz7 w128axg5 b1fzgn0z\">Trump has ordered a five-day pause on US strikes targeting Iran&#8217;s power plants<small class=\"copyright c19ed66t ihwmx5 idu7i8u lxmvniw icns9en rcjjkz7 w128axg5 b1fzgn0z\">Image: YAY Images\/IMAGO<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div data-tracking-skip=\"true\" data-tracking-name=\"rich-text\" class=\"c17j8gzx rc0m0op r1ebneao s198y7xq rich-text l1evdo4u blt0baw s16w0xvi rcjjkz7 w128axg5 b1fzgn0z\">\n<p>Less than 12 hours before a deadline set by US\u00a0President <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/us-president-donald-trump-russia-ukraine-israel-gaza-tariffs-trade-war\/t-19434433\">Donald Trump<\/a> for <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran\/t-18996175\">Iran<\/a> to reopen the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/strait-of-hormuz\/t-76193780\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a>\u00a0was due to expire, the Republican announced he would <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-trump-claims-us-has-held-talks-with-iran\/live-76478747\">postpone planned strikes<\/a> on the Islamic Republic&#8217;s power plants.<\/p>\n<p>Trump on Monday claimed\u00a0&#8220;very good and productive&#8221; talks with Tehran had resulted in\u00a0the five-day delay, although Iranian news agencies disputed his comments, reporting that there had been &#8220;no contact&#8221; between the two sides.<\/p>\n<p>Washington is trying to force Iran to end\u00a0its effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a\u00a0critical\u00a0waterway linking\u00a0the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean\u00a0through which\u00a0a fifth of the world&#8217;s oil and gas supplies is shipped.<\/p>\n<p>The strait&#8217;s closure has left tankers stranded for several weeks, sending fuel prices\u00a0soaring.\u00a0But following Trump&#8217;s latest announcement, the price of Brent crude \u2014\u00a0the international standard \u2014\u00a0fell more than 8%\u00a0to around $103\u00a0(\u20ac88.8) a barrel.<\/p>\n<p>Trump had issued the ultimatum late Saturday on his social media platform Truth Social, demanding that Iran fully reopen Hormuz\u00a0to commercial shipping to help end the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/us-israel-war-with-iran\/t-76168615\">war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The US president\u00a0warned that failure to comply within 48 hours would prompt the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/united-states-of-america\/t-19065189\">United States<\/a> to &#8220;hit and obliterate&#8221;\u00a0Iranian power plants,\u00a0&#8220;starting with the biggest one first.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Where are\u00a0Iran&#8217;s biggest power plants?<\/h2>\n<p>Iran has\u00a098 operational <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-and-energy-prices-attack-on-south-pars-raises-more-energy-fears\/a-76432233\">natural gas<\/a> power plants across the country, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) calculated that these plants account for about\u00a085% of total electricity generation.<\/p>\n<p>If Trump makes good on his original vow to target the biggest\u00a0site first, the Damavand power station\u00a0would be firmly in the crosshairs.<\/p>\n<p>Damavand, located in Pakdasht, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, has a generation capacity of approximately 2,868 megawatts, or MW, of electricity, making it Iran&#8217;s largest.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Damavand runs primarily on natural gas with diesel backup. The Iran Open Data Center calculated\u00a0that Damavand supplies around 43% of Tehran&#8217;s electricity, a city of\u00a0over 10 million people.<\/p>\n<p>Other major potential targets include the Ramin power plant in the oil-rich southwest,\u00a0Shahid Salimi (Neka) on\u00a0the Caspian Sea coast,\u00a0the Kerman facility in the southeast and the Shahid Montazeri power station in Isfahan, Iran&#8217;s third-largest city.<\/p>\n<p>These plants have an electricity-generating capacity of between 1,600 and 2,400 MW each.<\/p>\n<p>Several media outlets have speculated that Trump\u00a0could have meant the Bushehr nuclear plant, Iran&#8217;s only operational nuclear power reactor.<\/p>\n<p>With a 1,000 MW gross capacity, according to the World Nuclear Association,\u00a0Bushehr\u00a0makes a much smaller contribution to electricity generation than Damavand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rafael Grossi, director general of\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/international-atomic-energy-agency-iaea\/t-17449170\">the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)<\/a>, warned that a strike on Bushehr would cross the &#8220;reddest line&#8221;\u00a0of nuclear safety.<\/p>\n<p>He said\u00a0damage to\u00a0the reactor core could disperse radioactivity, potentially requiring evacuations over large areas. The radiation could also impact waters in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"placeholder-image master_landscape big\"><img data-format=\"MASTER_LANDSCAPE\" data-id=\"74409711\" data-url=\"https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/74409711_${formatId}.jpg\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" alt=\"An Iranian security official walks in front of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, southern Iran on August 21, 2010\"><figcaption class=\"img-caption\">Bushehr is Iran&#8217;s first and only nuclear power plant<small class=\"copyright\">Image: Abedin Taherkenareh\/dpa\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>How severe would the US strikes need\u00a0to be?<\/h2>\n<p>A nationwide blackout is unlikely from US strikes on Damavand alone. Analysts note that even major damage to one large plant would be absorbed by the broader electricity network.<\/p>\n<p>If US strikes on Damavand\u00a0were to disable\u00a0the entire facility, only around 3% to 4% of Iran&#8217;s electricity capacity, which totals\u00a098,802 MW,\u00a0would be removed.<\/p>\n<p>Achieving widespread or nationwide power cuts would require coordinated strikes on multiple facilities, as well as transmission lines, substations\u00a0and transformers.<\/p>\n<p>Synchronized strikes would\u00a0cause widespread blackouts for Iran&#8217;s\u00a0roughly 90 million people,\u00a0already strained by weeks of conflict and years of US sanctions that have curbed the Islamic Republic&#8217;s oil\u00a0trade.<\/p>\n<p>Prolonged power cuts could severely disrupt the Iranian economy, which is already struggling with\u00a0high inflation. They could also harm\u00a0industrial output, communications, water supply\u00a0and military operations.<\/p>\n<p>This could\u00a0fuel further internal instability and\u00a0Trump is betting that the threat will force\u00a0Tehran to make concessions over Hormuz and even to <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/is-irans-regime-at-a-breaking-point\/a-76400122\">end the war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"placeholder-image master_landscape big\"><img data-format=\"MASTER_LANDSCAPE\" data-id=\"76483037\" data-url=\"https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76483037_${formatId}.jpg\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" alt=\"A man watches the news on IRIB state television, in Tehran, Iran, on March 23, 2026\"><figcaption class=\"img-caption\">If its power plants are attacked, Iran has vowed to retaliate by targeting energy infrastructure in the region<small class=\"copyright\">Image: AFP\/Getty Images<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>How did Iran respond\u00a0to the threat?<\/h2>\n<p>Iran&#8217;s Fars news agency, citing \u200can unnamed source, on Monday denied there had been direct or indirect communications with Washington.<\/p>\n<p>The source said that\u00a0Tehran had forced Trump to back down after\u00a0Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)\u00a0warned of an\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-tehran-vows-response-to-trumps-hormuz-threats\/live-76470940\">equivalent retaliation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>IRGC\u00a0spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaqari had previously threatened strikes on all energy infrastructure, information technology systems\u00a0and water desalination plants in the region. Electricity and desalinated seawater make Gulf nations&#8217; desert cities\u00a0habitable.<\/p>\n<p>Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had also warned that critical infrastructure, including energy and desalination plants, would face &#8220;irreversible destruction.&#8221; He\u00a0added that the headquarters and assets of financial entities that buy US Treasury bonds would also be\u00a0&#8220;legitimate targets.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The IRGC warned\u00a0that the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut until Iran&#8217;s\u00a0destroyed power plants are rebuilt, a move that would almost certainly push global oil and gas prices much higher.<\/p>\n<p>Iran&#8217;s Defense Council escalated its retaliatory threat on Monday, warning that it would lay sea mines, including floating mines, in the strait and across the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n<h2>What could be the regional impact?<\/h2>\n<p>Gulf nations impacted by Iranian strikes on their energy facilities have so far stayed out of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>But <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/saudi-arabia\/t-19155637\">Saudi Arabia<\/a> and <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/qatar\/t-63715610\">Qatar<\/a> have already threatened severe retaliation, warning that any further attacks on their critical infrastructure \u2014 oil fields, refineries\u00a0and desalination plants \u2014 would force them to respond militarily.<\/p>\n<p>After Iran hit a Saudi oil refinery last week and targeted Riyadh with ballistic missiles, Saudi\u00a0Foreign Minister\u00a0Prince Faisal bin Farhan warned that the Gulf kingdom&#8217;s\u00a0patience\u00a0with Tehran was running out.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This pressure from Iran will backfire politically and morally and certainly we reserve the right to take military actions if deemed necessary,&#8221;\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n<p>A further escalation could\u00a0potentially draw\u00a0in <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-gulf-states-debate-us-bases-military-alliance\/a-76414229\">US-led coalition forces in the Gulf<\/a>, turning\u00a0the crisis into a broader regional war.<\/p>\n<p>Since the war began on February 28, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/united-arab-emirates\/t-67582701\">United Arab Emirates<\/a>, <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/kuwait\/t-67603965\">Kuwait<\/a>\u00a0and <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/bahrain\/t-18962343\">Bahrain<\/a> have\u00a0been struck by thousands of Iranian missiles and drones,\u00a0causing significant but contained damage to oil and gas facilities as well as civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>More than 40 energy sites across nine countries in the Middle East have been &#8220;severely or very severely&#8221;\u00a0damaged, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).<\/p>\n<p><em>Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div data-tracking-skip=\"true\" data-tracking-name=\"rich-text\" class=\"c17j8gzx rc0m0op r1ebneao s198y7xq rich-text l1evdo4u blt0baw s16w0xvi rcjjkz7 w128axg5 b1fzgn0z\">\n<p>Less than 12 hours before a deadline set by US\u00a0President <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/us-president-donald-trump-russia-ukraine-israel-gaza-tariffs-trade-war\/t-19434433\">Donald Trump<\/a> for <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran\/t-18996175\">Iran<\/a> to reopen the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/strait-of-hormuz\/t-76193780\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a>\u00a0was due to expire, the Republican announced he would <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-trump-claims-us-has-held-talks-with-iran\/live-76478747\">postpone planned strikes<\/a> on the Islamic Republic&#8217;s power plants.<\/p>\n<p>Trump on Monday claimed\u00a0&#8220;very good and productive&#8221; talks with Tehran had resulted in\u00a0the five-day delay, although Iranian news agencies disputed his comments, reporting that there had been &#8220;no contact&#8221; between the two sides.<\/p>\n<p>Washington is trying to force Iran to end\u00a0its effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a\u00a0critical\u00a0waterway linking\u00a0the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean\u00a0through which\u00a0a fifth of the world&#8217;s oil and gas supplies is shipped.<\/p>\n<p>The strait&#8217;s closure has left tankers stranded for several weeks, sending fuel prices\u00a0soaring.\u00a0But following Trump&#8217;s latest announcement, the price of Brent crude \u2014\u00a0the international standard \u2014\u00a0fell more than 8%\u00a0to around $103\u00a0(\u20ac88.8) a barrel.<\/p>\n<p>Trump had issued the ultimatum late Saturday on his social media platform Truth Social, demanding that Iran fully reopen Hormuz\u00a0to commercial shipping to help end the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/us-israel-war-with-iran\/t-76168615\">war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The US president\u00a0warned that failure to comply within 48 hours would prompt the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/united-states-of-america\/t-19065189\">United States<\/a> to &#8220;hit and obliterate&#8221;\u00a0Iranian power plants,\u00a0&#8220;starting with the biggest one first.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Where are\u00a0Iran&#8217;s biggest power plants?<\/h2>\n<p>Iran has\u00a098 operational <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-and-energy-prices-attack-on-south-pars-raises-more-energy-fears\/a-76432233\">natural gas<\/a> power plants across the country, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) calculated that these plants account for about\u00a085% of total electricity generation.<\/p>\n<p>If Trump makes good on his original vow to target the biggest\u00a0site first, the Damavand power station\u00a0would be firmly in the crosshairs.<\/p>\n<p>Damavand, located in Pakdasht, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, has a generation capacity of approximately 2,868 megawatts, or MW, of electricity, making it Iran&#8217;s largest.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Damavand runs primarily on natural gas with diesel backup. The Iran Open Data Center calculated\u00a0that Damavand supplies around 43% of Tehran&#8217;s electricity, a city of\u00a0over 10 million people.<\/p>\n<p>Other major potential targets include the Ramin power plant in the oil-rich southwest,\u00a0Shahid Salimi (Neka) on\u00a0the Caspian Sea coast,\u00a0the Kerman facility in the southeast and the Shahid Montazeri power station in Isfahan, Iran&#8217;s third-largest city.<\/p>\n<p>These plants have an electricity-generating capacity of between 1,600 and 2,400 MW each.<\/p>\n<p>Several media outlets have speculated that Trump\u00a0could have meant the Bushehr nuclear plant, Iran&#8217;s only operational nuclear power reactor.<\/p>\n<p>With a 1,000 MW gross capacity, according to the World Nuclear Association,\u00a0Bushehr\u00a0makes a much smaller contribution to electricity generation than Damavand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rafael Grossi, director general of\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/international-atomic-energy-agency-iaea\/t-17449170\">the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)<\/a>, warned that a strike on Bushehr would cross the &#8220;reddest line&#8221;\u00a0of nuclear safety.<\/p>\n<p>He said\u00a0damage to\u00a0the reactor core could disperse radioactivity, potentially requiring evacuations over large areas. The radiation could also impact waters in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"placeholder-image master_landscape big\"><img data-format=\"MASTER_LANDSCAPE\" data-id=\"74409711\" data-url=\"https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/74409711_${formatId}.jpg\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" alt=\"An Iranian security official walks in front of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, southern Iran on August 21, 2010\"><figcaption class=\"img-caption\">Bushehr is Iran&#8217;s first and only nuclear power plant<small class=\"copyright\">Image: Abedin Taherkenareh\/dpa\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>How severe would the US strikes need\u00a0to be?<\/h2>\n<p>A nationwide blackout is unlikely from US strikes on Damavand alone. Analysts note that even major damage to one large plant would be absorbed by the broader electricity network.<\/p>\n<p>If US strikes on Damavand\u00a0were to disable\u00a0the entire facility, only around 3% to 4% of Iran&#8217;s electricity capacity, which totals\u00a098,802 MW,\u00a0would be removed.<\/p>\n<p>Achieving widespread or nationwide power cuts would require coordinated strikes on multiple facilities, as well as transmission lines, substations\u00a0and transformers.<\/p>\n<p>Synchronized strikes would\u00a0cause widespread blackouts for Iran&#8217;s\u00a0roughly 90 million people,\u00a0already strained by weeks of conflict and years of US sanctions that have curbed the Islamic Republic&#8217;s oil\u00a0trade.<\/p>\n<p>Prolonged power cuts could severely disrupt the Iranian economy, which is already struggling with\u00a0high inflation. They could also harm\u00a0industrial output, communications, water supply\u00a0and military operations.<\/p>\n<p>This could\u00a0fuel further internal instability and\u00a0Trump is betting that the threat will force\u00a0Tehran to make concessions over Hormuz and even to <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/is-irans-regime-at-a-breaking-point\/a-76400122\">end the war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"placeholder-image master_landscape big\"><img data-format=\"MASTER_LANDSCAPE\" data-id=\"76483037\" data-url=\"https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76483037_${formatId}.jpg\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" alt=\"A man watches the news on IRIB state television, in Tehran, Iran, on March 23, 2026\"><figcaption class=\"img-caption\">If its power plants are attacked, Iran has vowed to retaliate by targeting energy infrastructure in the region<small class=\"copyright\">Image: AFP\/Getty Images<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>How did Iran respond\u00a0to the threat?<\/h2>\n<p>Iran&#8217;s Fars news agency, citing \u200can unnamed source, on Monday denied there had been direct or indirect communications with Washington.<\/p>\n<p>The source said that\u00a0Tehran had forced Trump to back down after\u00a0Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)\u00a0warned of an\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-tehran-vows-response-to-trumps-hormuz-threats\/live-76470940\">equivalent retaliation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>IRGC\u00a0spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaqari had previously threatened strikes on all energy infrastructure, information technology systems\u00a0and water desalination plants in the region. Electricity and desalinated seawater make Gulf nations&#8217; desert cities\u00a0habitable.<\/p>\n<p>Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had also warned that critical infrastructure, including energy and desalination plants, would face &#8220;irreversible destruction.&#8221; He\u00a0added that the headquarters and assets of financial entities that buy US Treasury bonds would also be\u00a0&#8220;legitimate targets.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The IRGC warned\u00a0that the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut until Iran&#8217;s\u00a0destroyed power plants are rebuilt, a move that would almost certainly push global oil and gas prices much higher.<\/p>\n<p>Iran&#8217;s Defense Council escalated its retaliatory threat on Monday, warning that it would lay sea mines, including floating mines, in the strait and across the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n<h2>What could be the regional impact?<\/h2>\n<p>Gulf nations impacted by Iranian strikes on their energy facilities have so far stayed out of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>But <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/saudi-arabia\/t-19155637\">Saudi Arabia<\/a> and <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/qatar\/t-63715610\">Qatar<\/a> have already threatened severe retaliation, warning that any further attacks on their critical infrastructure \u2014 oil fields, refineries\u00a0and desalination plants \u2014 would force them to respond militarily.<\/p>\n<p>After Iran hit a Saudi oil refinery last week and targeted Riyadh with ballistic missiles, Saudi\u00a0Foreign Minister\u00a0Prince Faisal bin Farhan warned that the Gulf kingdom&#8217;s\u00a0patience\u00a0with Tehran was running out.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This pressure from Iran will backfire politically and morally and certainly we reserve the right to take military actions if deemed necessary,&#8221;\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n<p>A further escalation could\u00a0potentially draw\u00a0in <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-gulf-states-debate-us-bases-military-alliance\/a-76414229\">US-led coalition forces in the Gulf<\/a>, turning\u00a0the crisis into a broader regional war.<\/p>\n<p>Since the war began on February 28, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/united-arab-emirates\/t-67582701\">United Arab Emirates<\/a>, <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/kuwait\/t-67603965\">Kuwait<\/a>\u00a0and <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/bahrain\/t-18962343\">Bahrain<\/a> have\u00a0been struck by thousands of Iranian missiles and drones,\u00a0causing significant but contained damage to oil and gas facilities as well as civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>More than 40 energy sites across nine countries in the Middle East have been &#8220;severely or very severely&#8221;\u00a0damaged, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).<\/p>\n<p><em>Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Less than 12 hours before a deadline set by US\u00a0President <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/us-president-donald-trump-russia-ukraine-israel-gaza-tariffs-trade-war\/t-19434433\">Donald Trump<\/a> for <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran\/t-18996175\">Iran<\/a> to reopen the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/strait-of-hormuz\/t-76193780\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a>\u00a0was due to expire, the Republican announced he would <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-trump-claims-us-has-held-talks-with-iran\/live-76478747\">postpone planned strikes<\/a> on the Islamic Republic&#8217;s power plants.<\/p>\n<p>Trump on Monday claimed\u00a0&#8220;very good and productive&#8221; talks with Tehran had resulted in\u00a0the five-day delay, although Iranian news agencies disputed his comments, reporting that there had been &#8220;no contact&#8221; between the two sides.<\/p>\n<p>Washington is trying to force Iran to end\u00a0its effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a\u00a0critical\u00a0waterway linking\u00a0the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean\u00a0through which\u00a0a fifth of the world&#8217;s oil and gas supplies is shipped.<\/p>\n<p>The strait&#8217;s closure has left tankers stranded for several weeks, sending fuel prices\u00a0soaring.\u00a0But following Trump&#8217;s latest announcement, the price of Brent crude \u2014\u00a0the international standard \u2014\u00a0fell more than 8%\u00a0to around $103\u00a0(\u20ac88.8) a barrel.<\/p>\n<p>Trump had issued the ultimatum late Saturday on his social media platform Truth Social, demanding that Iran fully reopen Hormuz\u00a0to commercial shipping to help end the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/us-israel-war-with-iran\/t-76168615\">war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The US president\u00a0warned that failure to comply within 48 hours would prompt the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/united-states-of-america\/t-19065189\">United States<\/a> to &#8220;hit and obliterate&#8221;\u00a0Iranian power plants,\u00a0&#8220;starting with the biggest one first.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Iran has\u00a098 operational <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-and-energy-prices-attack-on-south-pars-raises-more-energy-fears\/a-76432233\">natural gas<\/a> power plants across the country, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) calculated that these plants account for about\u00a085% of total electricity generation.<\/p>\n<p>If Trump makes good on his original vow to target the biggest\u00a0site first, the Damavand power station\u00a0would be firmly in the crosshairs.<\/p>\n<p>Damavand, located in Pakdasht, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, has a generation capacity of approximately 2,868 megawatts, or MW, of electricity, making it Iran&#8217;s largest.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Damavand runs primarily on natural gas with diesel backup. The Iran Open Data Center calculated\u00a0that Damavand supplies around 43% of Tehran&#8217;s electricity, a city of\u00a0over 10 million people.<\/p>\n<p>Other major potential targets include the Ramin power plant in the oil-rich southwest,\u00a0Shahid Salimi (Neka) on\u00a0the Caspian Sea coast,\u00a0the Kerman facility in the southeast and the Shahid Montazeri power station in Isfahan, Iran&#8217;s third-largest city.<\/p>\n<p>These plants have an electricity-generating capacity of between 1,600 and 2,400 MW each.<\/p>\n<p>Several media outlets have speculated that Trump\u00a0could have meant the Bushehr nuclear plant, Iran&#8217;s only operational nuclear power reactor.<\/p>\n<p>With a 1,000 MW gross capacity, according to the World Nuclear Association,\u00a0Bushehr\u00a0makes a much smaller contribution to electricity generation than Damavand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rafael Grossi, director general of\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/international-atomic-energy-agency-iaea\/t-17449170\">the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)<\/a>, warned that a strike on Bushehr would cross the &#8220;reddest line&#8221;\u00a0of nuclear safety.<\/p>\n<p>He said\u00a0damage to\u00a0the reactor core could disperse radioactivity, potentially requiring evacuations over large areas. The radiation could also impact waters in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n<p>A nationwide blackout is unlikely from US strikes on Damavand alone. Analysts note that even major damage to one large plant would be absorbed by the broader electricity network.<\/p>\n<p>If US strikes on Damavand\u00a0were to disable\u00a0the entire facility, only around 3% to 4% of Iran&#8217;s electricity capacity, which totals\u00a098,802 MW,\u00a0would be removed.<\/p>\n<p>Achieving widespread or nationwide power cuts would require coordinated strikes on multiple facilities, as well as transmission lines, substations\u00a0and transformers.<\/p>\n<p>Synchronized strikes would\u00a0cause widespread blackouts for Iran&#8217;s\u00a0roughly 90 million people,\u00a0already strained by weeks of conflict and years of US sanctions that have curbed the Islamic Republic&#8217;s oil\u00a0trade.<\/p>\n<p>Prolonged power cuts could severely disrupt the Iranian economy, which is already struggling with\u00a0high inflation. They could also harm\u00a0industrial output, communications, water supply\u00a0and military operations.<\/p>\n<p>This could\u00a0fuel further internal instability and\u00a0Trump is betting that the threat will force\u00a0Tehran to make concessions over Hormuz and even to <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/is-irans-regime-at-a-breaking-point\/a-76400122\">end the war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Iran&#8217;s Fars news agency, citing \u200can unnamed source, on Monday denied there had been direct or indirect communications with Washington.<\/p>\n<p>The source said that\u00a0Tehran had forced Trump to back down after\u00a0Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)\u00a0warned of an\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-tehran-vows-response-to-trumps-hormuz-threats\/live-76470940\">equivalent retaliation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>IRGC\u00a0spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaqari had previously threatened strikes on all energy infrastructure, information technology systems\u00a0and water desalination plants in the region. Electricity and desalinated seawater make Gulf nations&#8217; desert cities\u00a0habitable.<\/p>\n<p>Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had also warned that critical infrastructure, including energy and desalination plants, would face &#8220;irreversible destruction.&#8221; He\u00a0added that the headquarters and assets of financial entities that buy US Treasury bonds would also be\u00a0&#8220;legitimate targets.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The IRGC warned\u00a0that the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut until Iran&#8217;s\u00a0destroyed power plants are rebuilt, a move that would almost certainly push global oil and gas prices much higher.<\/p>\n<p>Iran&#8217;s Defense Council escalated its retaliatory threat on Monday, warning that it would lay sea mines, including floating mines, in the strait and across the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n<p>Gulf nations impacted by Iranian strikes on their energy facilities have so far stayed out of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>But <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/saudi-arabia\/t-19155637\">Saudi Arabia<\/a> and <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/qatar\/t-63715610\">Qatar<\/a> have already threatened severe retaliation, warning that any further attacks on their critical infrastructure \u2014 oil fields, refineries\u00a0and desalination plants \u2014 would force them to respond militarily.<\/p>\n<p>After Iran hit a Saudi oil refinery last week and targeted Riyadh with ballistic missiles, Saudi\u00a0Foreign Minister\u00a0Prince Faisal bin Farhan warned that the Gulf kingdom&#8217;s\u00a0patience\u00a0with Tehran was running out.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This pressure from Iran will backfire politically and morally and certainly we reserve the right to take military actions if deemed necessary,&#8221;\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n<p>A further escalation could\u00a0potentially draw\u00a0in <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/iran-war-gulf-states-debate-us-bases-military-alliance\/a-76414229\">US-led coalition forces in the Gulf<\/a>, turning\u00a0the crisis into a broader regional war.<\/p>\n<p>Since the war began on February 28, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/united-arab-emirates\/t-67582701\">United Arab Emirates<\/a>, <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/kuwait\/t-67603965\">Kuwait<\/a>\u00a0and <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/bahrain\/t-18962343\">Bahrain<\/a> have\u00a0been struck by thousands of Iranian missiles and drones,\u00a0causing significant but contained damage to oil and gas facilities as well as civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>More than 40 energy sites across nine countries in the Middle East have been &#8220;severely or very severely&#8221;\u00a0damaged, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).<\/p>\n<p><em>Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru<\/em><\/p>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/irans-energy-sites-still-on-trumps-target-list\/a-76480741&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76489420_6.jpg&#8221;] https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5Au8L Trump has ordered a five-day pause on US strikes targeting Iran&#8217;s power plantsImage: YAY Images\/IMAGO Less than 12 hours before a deadline set by US\u00a0President Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz\u00a0was due to expire, the Republican announced he would postpone planned strikes on the Islamic Republic&#8217;s power [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,74],"class_list":["post-1842353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dw-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1842353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842353\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1842353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1842353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1842353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}